How Technology Can Solve Marketers’ Biggest Challenge

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Since I work in New York, my daily commute into the office is its own market research. It never ceases to amaze me how scattered people’s attention can be when you consider what’s available (or is it demanding?) to them: social feeds, digital readers, billboards, print, videos, texts messages…and on and on. All before 9 a.m.

It goes without saying that we live in a fragmented media environment. And if the plethora of choices people have at their fingertips wasn’t enough of a challenge to advertisers, technology today has created an opt-in culture: consumers have to follow brands online; adoption of ad blockers and private web browsers are on the rise.

In this C2B world, never before have brands faced a bigger challenge than developing an effective, omni-channel approach to marketing that takes into consideration the on- and offline worlds – because to consumers, there is no distinction when it comes to your brand.

A multi-channel approach to advertising is not new, but where there is great potential is the emerging opportunity for brands to be more proactive and provide more distinctness and relevance at the intersection of their needs and those of the consumer.

Perhaps what’s most exciting about this massive opportunity is the chance for marketers to overlap their brand-building and performance efforts to create a more effective marketing spend.

Technology as a Media Solution

As much as technology has disrupted the media landscape and made marketers rethink their approach, it also is the key to helping navigate the digital world and keep up with customers on their terms.

A number of ways technology has opened the door to smarter, more impactful, omni-channel media planning and execution:

Incorporating consumer trends and competitive data into what is now a fluid pre-planning process; allowing teams to make smarter decisions based off real-time insights

Taking full advantage of a living data set that can more accurately inform how a campaign needs to adjust on the fly in order to be successful, based on its KPIs and desired business outcomes

Embracing pragmatic channels that not only achieve scale on display delivery but content delivery, as well

Guiding marketers to better understanding the lives of their consumers and determining when/where are the most relevant moments to take advantage of at a scale that impacts the bottom line

Automating certain aspects of campaign management and execution, thereby liberating teams of humans who understand the intricacies of your business and can put their knowledge to work hard for you and your bottom line

A Path Forward

I don’t blame any marketer for being confused at this point in the conversation. At iCrossing, here are just a few of the starting points we suggest to begin the dialogue with clients about how they are unleashing their potential across the media ecosystem in the modern world:

The data you own: how well do you know it and are you getting the most out of it?

Keeping in mind media planning and execution with business objectives (vs. media objectives) where efficiency is a guarantee, and true value comes from propelling revenue growth

Architecting plans that are media-agnostic and center around the people that matter most to your business

Being an omni-present brand vs. a channel present brand

Brands that have embraced the above mentality are poised to win, but we are still in the infancy of the digital media revolution. For marketers still coming to grips with digital transformation, there is still time…until the model gets disrupted again.